Resource Location Verification via Consumer Device Comparison
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing resource locator databases, such as those used for ATMs, often contain inaccurate location information due to businesses relocating or going out of business, and rely on unverified data provided by business owners, leading to unreliable consumer experiences and brand damage for both the locator service and resource providers.
Innovation Solution
Utilizing location-enabled mobile devices, such as GPS-enabled smartphones, to verify the accuracy of resource locations by comparing the device's location during transactions to the stored location in the database, and updating the database with consistent location information over time, thereby correcting inaccuracies and maintaining accurate resource listings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If business owners provide location information for databases, then resource locations can be populated in the database, but the location information cannot be easily verified or audited leading to inaccuracies
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by automatically verifying resource locations through consumer device locations. When consumers access resources using locator services, their device locations are obtained and compared against stored resource locations in the database. Mismatches are tracked and fed back to the system, which then notifies resource providers to update their location information, creating a closed-loop verification mechanism that continuously improves location accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The verification system operates autonomously without requiring manual auditing. The system automatically obtains consumer device locations, compares them with stored resource locations, tracks mismatches, and generates notifications to resource providers. This self-service approach eliminates the need for complex manual verification processes while maintaining high accuracy standards.
2Reliability
If locator databases are updated frequently to maintain accuracy, then location information reliability improves, but the cost and complexity of maintaining the database increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs periodic verification of resource locations through consumer interactions. Instead of continuous monitoring, the system leverages periodic consumer accesses to resources to verify locations. Each consumer interaction provides an opportunity to verify and potentially update location information, maintaining reliability through regular sampling without requiring constant active monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The database maintenance is performed automatically through the verification system that operates without manual intervention. The system self-manages the entire process from obtaining consumer device locations to comparing them with stored information and generating update notifications, reducing the complexity of database maintenance while ensuring continuous reliability.
3Measurement precision
If consumer device locations are obtained and compared with resource locations, then location inaccuracies can be detected, but this requires additional system infrastructure and processing
Solution Approach 1:
The system leverages the existing location capabilities of consumer devices that are already being used for the primary locator service functionality. The same GPS or location services that enable consumers to find resources are also used to verify resource locations, making the verification infrastructure universal and eliminating the need for separate dedicated verification hardware or systems.
Solution Approach 2:
Consumer devices themselves provide the location information needed for verification without requiring additional infrastructure. The devices' built-in location capabilities serve the dual purpose of enabling resource finding and providing verification data, reducing system infrastructure requirements while maintaining high measurement precision.
4Reliability
If threshold-based verification is implemented to reduce false alarms, then system reliability improves, but the response time to correct location errors increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a feedback mechanism that continuously monitors location mismatches and provides timely notifications to resource providers. When the threshold is exceeded, the system immediately generates a notification, creating a rapid feedback loop that minimizes the time location errors remain uncorrected while maintaining high verification accuracy through the threshold filter.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the verification threshold based on the accumulated mismatch data. As more mismatches are detected for a particular resource, the system can lower the threshold for that specific resource, enabling faster response times for resources with consistent location problems while maintaining high overall verification accuracy through parameter adaptation.
Data Source
AI summary
A method to be implemented using a computer system, the method comprising the steps of providing a resource database that specifies locations of resources for use by consumers, receiving a location communication originated by a mobile consumer device associated with a consumer at a time temporally proximate a time when the consumer accesses a resource where the location communication indicates the location of the consumer device and using the location of the consumer device indicated in the communication to update the resource database.